Summer Rain

It's depressing.
I couldn't sleep last night, because of the incessant patter of rain on the bedroom window. This morning I looked outside and it's still raining, thick clouds covering the sky like a blanket.
Everything looks grey - even people's faces ;-)
I can relate though.
I spent two years in sunny Indonesia and no matter what, people were always friendly and smiling. I guess it really has to do with the sun shining brightly for most of the year...
One positive aspect is that I seem to get a lot more work done, even though I've only had a few hours sleep.
I'm developing worksheets at the moment for the pupils who are taking my summer course.
Later this month I'll be heading up to Duesseldorf (the fashion capital of Germany) for a couple of days during the CPD. That's the international Fashion Trade Show. Okay, so I'm not officially part of this bi-annual event, but sometimes I just need to feel the buzz for old times sake ;-) , catch up with ex-colleagues and (sometimes acquire a new translating assignment) hehe.

Bye for now.

Summertime - T-shirt time

The other day I was looking round our gaggle of shops in search of a plain, white T-shirt.
When I was still a city girl I'd rush down to the nearest 'Theory' boutique in my lunch-break an grab one for 80 $.
These days I'm a bit more frugal when it comes to spending money - especially when it's only a white T-shirt. But would you believe? A plain, white T-shirt is about as difficult to find around here as a dropped contact lens on a carpet. I thought I'd found one in the local fashion store, but when I turned it over it had big, black, flock-printed angel wings on its back! Another one had 'DOWN & OUT' in fat capitals splashed across the front! Ridiculous.
So, after another fifteen minutes of half-heartedly flicking through the clothes, I did what any sensible girl living in the country would do. I bought one off the internet.

So, how about you? What's your favourite mode of shopping? Local or internet?

Green is my favourite colour

It's the end of June; the start of the summer holidays in this region, and I still can't get over how green and lush the garden looks at this time of year; the right flank is overflowing with roses and clematis and great big rhododendron are blooming on the left. I used to live in one of the high-rise blocks you can see in the picture, and the only green patch I ever saw was the mold that grew in the top corner of my shower cubicle!
When I first came here I actually had an aversion to grass - much like neurotic TV-detective Adrian Monk. Now I own a vegetable patch.
Watching my plants grow is very meditative and soothing to the mind. It's also quite rewarding harvesting the produce - and to think that I used to consider that plastic-wrapped supermarket stuff fresh!

So, tell me. How many of you have secretly always wanted to grow your own veggies?